Sat, 18 May 2013 15:10:38 +1000WeeblyMon, 18 Jun 2012 10:19:44 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2012/06/experimentation-a-good-recipe-for-kriya.htmlWho knew that kriya could be compared to cake making? Experimenting on oneself, applying what you learn on students with similar circumstances, refining your methods and sharing your insights is a vocation for yoga therapists. Yet so too, it appears, are baking analogies.

“My teachers include Sri Yogendra, Swami Gitananda, A.G. Mohan and Donna Farhi,” acknowledges Leigh Blashki. “To develop the Anguli Mudra Kriya, I experimented with different pranayamas, mudras, mantras, and visualisations. While I baked the cake, they provided the ingredients.”

As Director of training programs at the Australian Institute of Yoga Therapy, the secretary of the Australian Association of Yoga Therapists, Vice President of Yoga Australia, a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists’ Council of Advisors, and a peer reviewer for the International Journal of Yoga Therapy with 33 years of teaching experience and 20 years of yoga therapy, Leigh is well-placed to develop a kriya which was inspired by Nadi Shodana.

“I always enjoyed Nadi Shodana, but sometimes felt a bit frustrated, like something was missing,” says Leigh. “I began by building on the mudras. Depending on the unique needs of the student, we can increase or decrease the different elements by applying the thumb, or fire elements, to the different fingers.

“We can start at a very basic level and then apply different variations, adding mantras and visualisations, including those from different religious traditions if they are relevant to the student, and mula bandha on occasion. The effect is a powerful vitalisation and purification of the body-mind. Like all practices, it needs to be done steadily, over time.”

Leigh experimented with the kriya for several years, applying it with different yoga therapy clients, including those with physical limitations as the kriya is performed in a seated position.

Last year, he presented it to the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research run by the International Association of Yoga Therapists on Monterrey Peninsular in California. For Leigh, it was an added delight to visit Monterrey for the first time as it was home of legendary Monterrey International Pop Festival, the first widely promoted and heavily attended rock festival, which pioneered the way for Woodstock and others.

Talking technique
When I ask Leigh to explain the technique in more detail, he invites me along to the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference in August where he is presenting the Kriya to fellow teachers.

“I’m not a fan of writing down technique. People read something and take it on shallowly, thinking that’s all there is to it. They need to learn this face-to-face,” stresses Leigh. “Yoga therapy is malleable to suit the needs of the individual, alive with infinite variations, adjustments, tools and techniques to meet the student where they are at.”

The explosion of yoga in Australia in recent years has provided far more opportunities for teachers and students of yoga to dip their toes in different styles and traditions, and receive yoga teaching in different formats, from classes of 60-plus people, to YouTube videos, audio downloads, cards, website subscriptions and E-courses. For the urban yogi, choice can overwhelm and lead to sporadic practice.

“We need to relearn the art of a relationship,” says Leigh, warming to his theme. “We need to stay connected through face-to-face relationships and small groups. A.G. Mohan used to say, ‘in the West, you are losing community. You need to come together, to sit together’.”

And so we return to baking cakes. “A practice of yoga, a sequence or a fixed way of doing things is like getting a ready-made Sara Lee cake. People can get so much more out of yoga if they understand the different ingredients and their applications. They can then make a unique recipe all of their own.”

While Leigh’s take on the importance of face-to-face relationships bucks modern trends in yoga, his embracing and encouragement of experimentation and lack of proprietary makes him very modern indeed.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Enlightened Events, organisers of the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference of which Yoga Reach is the marketing partner. Win a free ticket to the Conference valued at $375! Check out the details.
]]>Mon, 18 Jun 2012 10:06:51 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2012/06/bridging-worlds-in-the-therapeutic-relationship.htmlSal Flynn bridges two worlds. As a counselor trained in the Western tradition, she uses yogic understanding and mindfulness practices to support her clients, as well as supporting her own self-care.

“My work as a therapist is informed by many things not the least of which is my yoga practice,” says Sal. “It helps me be present for my clients, to listen with my whole self and to approach the therapeutic relationship with a non-judgmental curiosity and interest.”

For Sal, who began practicing yoga 30 years ago, her interest in Eastern thought developed alongside an enduring curiosity in self-understanding. Ten years after taking up yoga, Sal began studying to be a teacher in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya in Australia, and later in India. She gave up a corporate job, and pursued studies in Western counselling and clinical hypnotherapy.

Meeting Desikachar
About 25 years ago, Sal was lucky to be part of a week long intensive with T.K.V. Desikachar in Albert Park, Melbourne, for a group of about 60 people.

“That brief experience with Mr Desikachar expanded my view of what yoga could be. I was floored and thirsty for more,” says Sal. “Shortly afterwards I read A.G. Mohan’s first book which had a similar, profound impact, so I wrote to Mr. Mohan.” Sal was off to India again, studying at Mr and Mrs Mohan’s home in a group of five and living near their small village, just outside Chennai in South India.

Unraveling the cultural trappings
Upon returning to Australia, Sal was invited by one of her private student students to work at a medical centre, which also had allied health professionals. Sal began supporting clients one-to-one, in consultation and collaboration with their medical doctor.

Sal realised that people who could most benefit from yoga were often put off, seeing yoga as some exotic practice from India involving complicated, impossible poses and mysterious cultural trappings that didn’t apply to them.

Sal became intrigued with how to make yoga more accessible to more people without diluting the practice. It was around this time that she was discovered the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, a scientist, writer, yoga and mindfulness meditation teacher and founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn’s model seemed to offer the synergy between East and West that Sal had been looking for, and it continues to be central to her work and practice.

“Western research on yoga and mindfulness helps to allay fears and inspire trust. While I don’t personally need reassurance about the benefits of yoga and mindfulness, I understand that other people do, and if research in a western framework means that someone tries yoga for the first time, then it’s an approach I’m happy to support.”

Later Sal began learning from yoga teacher Donna Farhi whose teachings integrate the ‘Body Mind Centering’ movement awareness approach developed by US therapist and teacher, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. This model helped Sal find new ways of approaching the experience of embodiment.

Sal has since completed teacher training with Donna Farhi, who she assists in teacher training, and in Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR). Further studies continued as she gained a Bachelors in Counselling and Human Change at the Jansen Newman Institute, where she is now a faculty member lecturing in both Mindfulness and Group Therapy.

Mindfulness in the therapeutic relationship
The mindfulness movement, long-established in western psychology, is increasingly recognised by the wider medical sector as an effective therapy for certain disorders.

“Mindfulness is a universal human capacity that enhances mental and emotional agility and interpersonal skills,” says Sal. “It’s useful to the therapist for self-care while enhancing their capacity for presence and empathy with their clients.”

Sal’s diverse experience includes five years working as a yoga teacher at a physiotherapy clinic which specialised in back care. “During that time I learnt how fear, which accompanies physical pain, gradually erodes quality of life,” says Sal. “A mindful yoga practice helps develop a new relationship with our circumstances which gives us the confidence to move again.”

“Our bodies come to know illness, ageing, grief, physical and emotional pain, and it may feel as if our bodies have betrayed us. The practices of mindfulness and yoga can help us reconnect with our aliveness again.”

The influence of the Buddha’s ‘Four Foundations of Mindfulness’, mindfulness of the body, feelings, mind and phenomena, is obvious in Sal’s yoga teaching. She approaches the practice of mindful asana as a way to access more subtle realms of mind. “With yoga, I aim to help clients develop confidence, to move safely and to make friends with themselves – mind and body – again.”

Avoiding burnout
“The power of presence and present moment awareness is enormous,” says Sal. “Professionals working in nurturing professions such as yoga teaching and counselling are at high risk of burnout.

“Mindfulness practices cultivate a way of being that helps us deal with the vicissitudes of life so that we are less battered by the inevitable winds of change. We learn to engage with our life’s unfolding in a conscious way, embracing change and making aware choices that support our growth.”

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Enlightened Events, organisers of the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference of which Yoga Reach is the marketing partner. Win a free ticket to the Conference valued at $375! Check out the details.]]>Wed, 13 Jun 2012 23:28:12 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2012/06/embodying-the-body.htmlPeople with eating disorders often have a fragmented sense of self where the body and mind are perceived as two separate, conflicting entities. Psychologist and yoga teacher Janet Lowndes helps clients to mindfully inhabit their bodies and begin appreciating its functionality rather than habitually punishing its form.

“I often ask clients, ‘how does it feel to live in your body?’” says Janet. “This is not something most people have ever considered. Our culture encourages us to separate our mind from our body, which can lead to an unhealthy relationship where we live in our head and are only aware of our body when it disappoints us, when we’re judging it, or when we experience pain or illness.”

Janet started yoga when in her early 20s, seeking to rehabilitate a shoulder injury. “I was incredibly lucky to find a teacher who taught the breadth of yoga – meditation, chanting and the wisdom of the Sutras,” says Janet. After graduating from her psychology degree then practicing as a counsellor for a little less than 10 years, Janet left the profession feeling burned out, and she travelled to India to learn more about Yoga.

“I found a complete system of psychological understanding along with strategies and practices to enhance our relationships with our inner and outer environments.” Janet stayed in the Swami Vivekanada ashram just outside Bangalore and gained her teacher training certification, following this with a two-year diploma at the Centre for Adult Education in Melbourne, a course on which she now teaches. She also presents on aspects of mental health and the mind-body relationship, how to work therapeutically, counselling skills, women’s health, and addiction on the Australian Institute of Yoga Therapy’s Graduate Certificate in Yoga Therapy course.

Our dieting norm
Janet began her therapy and counselling career at a community health centre in country Victoria, where many of her clients were young people presenting with eating disorders. “I was somewhat thrown in the deep end and learnt quickly,” says Janet. She saw many clients whose parents took them to Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig when they were eight or nine years old. Children taught from an early age to fight against their natural appetite often struggle against the body’s natural impulses as they grow into adulthood.

“Our culture sees dieting as a normal state of affairs. A major part of any eating disorder is fragmentation of the self where the mind and body are seen as separate, often conflicting entities. As well as consulting to many people with eating disorders, I see others who have very disordered eating – alternating between bingeing and abstaining, denying whole food groups, such as carbohydrates, and constantly objectifying their own bodies in the eternal quest for perfection,” says Janet.

Relating to the body
Janet works to help clients develop a healthy relationship with their body. Starting with their beliefs, thoughts and self-talk about their body, including changing an attitude of self-criticism to one of self-compassion and kindness to the self, Janet explores lifestyle patterns, attitudes towards exercise, as well as posture and breathing.

“Many people don’t mindfully inhabit their bodies. They identify with their thoughts, believing them to be true and frequently rage against their body’s form rather than appreciating it for its functionality,” says Janet. “A gentle asana practice focused on the subtle, experiential essence of yoga combined with regular meditation, relaxation and svadhyaya can help clients recognise how their thoughts and feelings are keeping them connected to behavioural patterns related to the eating disorder.”

The role of yoga in eating disorders
Periodic scandals about yoga being objectified unsettle the yoga world, most recently with the Equinox viral video, as various yoga studios or products are advertised in a way that appears to objectify the body beautiful and elevate the role of asana far beyond what the Yoga Sutras originally intended. Ironically in the case of the Equinox video, yoga teacher and model Briohny Kate Smyth responded to criticism of her doing yoga in her underwear by revealing how yoga had helped her overcome an eating disorder and gain confidence in her body.

Subtle and not so subtle associations between yoga and the objectification of the ‘body beautiful’ can confuse the message of what yoga is all about and Janet is dismayed to hear clients say that they are not thin or flexible enough to try a yoga class. “Yoga is sometimes taught with a focus on appearance or outcomes rather than as an experience and exploration,” says Janet. “As Yoga Teachers we need to consider what kind of images we use to promote yoga.  What message does it send when we show images of the ‘perfect body’ doing the ‘perfect asana’?”

Yoga as a psychological system
Janet notes that yoga is first and foremost a system of psychology with a holistic understanding of wellbeing. “Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras contain wonderful wisdom about the human psyche which modern psychological thought is only recently starting to comprehend,” says Janet. “The body is scarcely mentioned in western psychology, which often takes a reductionist approach, seeing each element of the person as a separate entity rather than an inseparable whole.”
 
Much of Janet’s work involves emphasising a different, more helpful perspective for her clients, and focusing on building the strength of the healthy self rather than attempting to challenge the eating disorder head-on. “What we resist, persists, and this is very much the case with eating disorders,” says Janet. “Rather than trying to tackle harmful thinking directly, we focus on using breath work to integrate the mind and the body and to inspire appreciation for what the body is capable of. We explore what it means to be a human being, with all our imperfections, struggles and joys.”

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Enlightened Events, organisers of the Australian Yoga Therapy Conference of which Yoga Reach is the marketing partner. Win a free ticket to the Conference valued at $375! Check out the details.]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:27:42 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/5wcw-advocates-buoyed-by-female-winners-of-2011-nobel-peace-prize.htmlThree women share this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, awarded last month to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman, a leading activist in Yemen’s populist revolt this year.

Trailblazer Sirleaf is the first elected female president in post-colonial Africa; Gbowee, a social worker turned peace campaigner and key leader in mobilising women to bring an end to Liberia’s long war; while Karman inspired thousands of women to rise up in Yemen’s ‘Arab Spring’, in a region where women are considered second-class citizens.

Nobel Prize recognises women
The Norwegian Nobel Committee jointly awarded the 2011 prize in recognition of the three women’s non-violent struggle for the safety of women and women’s rights, to draw attention to the ongoing suppression of women in many countries, and to highlight the essential role of women in peace-building and democracy worldwide.

“We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,” the prize committee said.

It wasn’t until October 2000 that the UN Security Council formally adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security which, for the first time, made violence against women in armed conflict an international security issue. It underlined the need for women to become equal participants in peace processes and peace work alongside men. Sirleaf, Gbowee and Karman are the first women to be awarded the Nobel Prize since 2004 winner, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Muta Maathai, bringing the tally of female winners to 15, compared with 85 men.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: Africa’s first female president
Since Sirleaf’s inauguration in 2006 she has helped secure peace in Liberia, strengthened the position of women and promoted economic and social development. Harvard-trained Sirleaf declared a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and made education compulsory and free for all primary-age children. She has just been re-elected despite her rival pulling out of the election and urging supporters to boycott it.

Leymah Gbowee
Gbowee mobilised women across long-standing ethnic and religious divides to bring an end to Liberia’s protracted war and to ensure women’s participation in elections. Gbowee led a movement of women who dressed in white to protest against rape and child soldiers in the war. When the 2003 peace talks reached a stalemate, these women in white surrounded the premises where the talks were held, refusing to let delegates leave until a peace treaty had been signed. Gbowee is executive director of the Women in Peace and Security Network, an organisation that works with women in Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone to promote peace, literacy and political involvement.

Tawakkul Karman
Karmen, a journalist and pro-democracy activist, has been a leading figure in the protests against Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh before and during the ‘Arab spring’ this year. She has been a key figure among youth activists in Yemen since they began occupying a square in central Sana’a in February to demand the end of the Saleh regime, and has often been the voice of activists on Arabic television, giving on-the-ground reports of the situation where dozens of activists have been shot dead by government forces.

Karmen said of the award: “This is a message to this regime and all the despotic regimes that no voice can drown out the voice of freedom and dignity.”

UN Fifth World Conference on Women (5WCW)
As the awarding of this year’s Nobel Prizes aims to spur on the fight for greater equality of women in male-dominated societies, advocates for Fifth World Conference on Women of the United Nations (5WCW) are encouraged. The Fifth World Conference on Women of the United Nations, targeted for 2015, would be 20 years after the last Conference in Beijing in 1995.

The aim of the Conference is to encourage the next generation of women leaders towards ending gender inequality which is most evident in the strict division of labour, less access to decision-making positions, fewer opportunities for participation in political life, and less value accorded to the roles they play and, consequently, inequitable gender relations.

Latest developments on 5WCW
Key advocates for the Conference, including Jean Shinoda Bolen continue to meet with ambassadors on sponsorship of a General Assembly for a 5WCW resolution.

Advocates are heartened by the recent appointment of former UN Under Secretary General, former President of the Security Council, and former Ambassador from Bangladesh, Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury as Senior Special Advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly. Chowdhury is a long-time advocate for women who played a key role in the Security Council adopting Resolution 1325.
Only one member-state Ambassador is needed to sponsor the resolution for 5WCW in the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly (2011-2012), which began in September.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Restorative Yoga.
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:23:54 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/change-and-impermanence.html While on the surface of it, the Buddhist doctrine of change and impermanence may seem pessimistic, appreciating that everything will change liberates us towards true freedom, peace and happiness.

Impermanence, or anicca in Pali, refers to the transient nature of all things. Everything in this world moves through the rites of birth, maturity and destruction, leaving no trace. Annica, together with suffering (dukkha) and non-self (anatta) are the Three Characteristics of Existence according to the Buddha. Annica is key, as impermanence leads to suffering (dukkha) and annica also explains why there is non-self (anatta).

Suffering (dukkha) arises because, in a state of self-deception, people crave immortality through belief in a soul. There is nothing that endures about sentient beings, both people and animals and no life thereafter.

The Buddha taught that human beings are composed of five aggregates (pañca khandha), which are empty and without self. By meditating on non-self (anatta), we can dissolve the barrier between self and other and appreciate that all beings in the universe are the same. Seeing that all other human beings exist in us and we exist in all other human beings, we are liberated from the cycle of birth and death, no longer held back by fear and self-deception.

Appreciating annica is part of existence, we are liberated from being a slave of emotions, sensations and experiences, knowing that joy and sorrow must change. We are neither living in a fool’s paradise, nor frightened by imaginary fears and sins.

Suffering for permanence
Oftentimes, we equate permanence with happiness. We mourn the loss of beauty as age fades youthful radiance. We mourn the loss of innocence as children grow up into judgmental or jaded adults. Most especially, we mourn the loss of life when our loved ones die.

The Buddha said that it is our self-deception that makes it appear that we are caught up in this world. Suffering (dukkha), the First Noble Truth of Buddhism, has a deeper meaning which includes imperfection and insubstantiality. Our expectation that things should be perfect, unchanging and enduring provokes sadness when they are not.

The world is made up of the four elements – earth, air, water and fire – in countless combinations constantly in flux. Nothing can exist independently and nothing is permanent.

Awareness of suffering leads to liberation
Since all things are impermanent, when we identify with the world, we also suffer from their eventual emptiness. Once we become aware of how suffering works, we begin to practice the way of the realisation. This is the first of the Four Noble Truths – awareness of dukkha reduces our dukkha.

By meditating on dukkha, we uncover its cause, directly confront it, and eliminate it by relinquishing our attachments to the five skandhas, or aggregates which together make up the human condition.

Impermanence and non-self
The five skandas that make up the human and worldly conditions are: matter, feeling, perception, thoughts and consciousness. By examining the five skandhas, we experience the selfless nature of our bodies as they journey through life, from birth to death and emptiness beyond.

“When we no longer are separate from the universe, a completely harmonious existence with the universe is created,” writes Thich Nhat Hanh in Two Treasures: Buddhist Teachings on Awakening and True Happiness. “We see all other human beings exist in us and we exist in all other human beings. We see that the past and the future are contained in the present moment, and we can penetrate and be completely liberated from the cycle of birth and death.”

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Restorative Yoga.
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:21:08 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/the-joy-of-slow.htmlNews flash: Being busy is not a virtue. Multi-tasking does not save you time. Filling time with a thousand actions does not mean you value it. Go slow and embrace the joy of the moment.

There’s a movement taking place around the world. It’s not loud. It’s certainly not busy. But it is joy-provoking, passion-rousing, value-aligning. The movement of slow, recently revived in 2004 by In Praise of Slow by Carl Honoré, is a reaction to, as Honoré puts it ‘the Cult of Speed’. Modern society makes us time-poor, with not enough time in the day to enjoy family, see friends, tend to hobbies and interests and, perhaps most significantly, to feel connection with one’s community and be emotionally and spiritually satisfied. As a result, we see the rise of ‘slow cooking’, slow cookers, organic foods, ‘down-shifting’, ‘tree changers’, home schooling, community building, and yoga. The rise of websites based on Honoré’s work, and blogs such as Leo Babauta’s ‘Zen Habits’, show the continuing popularity of this counter movement as individuals around the globe seek to simplify their lives, making conscious decisions about which parts of modern society they will embrace or reject.

Slow yoga
As yoga continues to proliferate into a variety of forms and combine with various other modalities (think ‘yoga and surfing’, ‘yoga and golf’, ‘yoga and…’), the move towards slow is best seen in Restorative Yoga. Restorative Yoga encourages the yogi to spend more time in each pose, to be more mindful of breath than is possible with some of the more aerobic styles of yoga, and to puts more emphasis on the final pose, Savasana (Corpse Pose), to allow deep healing to take place.

The physical benefits of holding a pose for a longer period, usually a minute, was particularly encouraged in the modern era by B.K.S. Iyengar, but benefits of Restorative Yoga are far more than physical.

“Yoga poses are used to prepare the body to sit comfortably in meditation,” says Sally Belmont, Restorative Yoga teacher. “Poses in the right combination combined with pranayama and meditations will leave one relaxed and rested but also highly energised. Making a practice of active relaxation is a great investment of your time.”

The perfection of this moment
The fifth stage of the yogic eight fold path as described by the sage Patanjali is Pratyahara. This translates as “withdrawal of the senses” and precedes concentration and meditation, the sixth and seventh steps. Withdrawing the senses is a crucial step in reaching a meditative state. We withdraw our senses by first embracing them – of using them to notice the world before actively withdrawing our involvement with it.

“Our senses are part of being human; they can never be turned off completely. It is our engagement and emotional reactions to our sensory sensations that we seek to control,” says Sally. “Similarly, going on retreat to a restful, quiet place for a week or so is wonderful but, for us to most of us in the middle years of our lives, it is neither practical nor desirable to live on retreat. We live in cities. We need to develop skills to live our lives with all the busy-ness, noise and distractions that this entails, while simultaneously being fully aware and present in each moment.”

As yoga continues to proliferate into ever more wacky and non-traditional combinations, a counter movement towards slowness, simplicity and stillness is a welcome balm.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Restorative Yoga.
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:15:39 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/for-the-love-of-it.htmlYou hear lots of claims that yoga teacher training ‘will change your life.’ This made me skeptical seeing as how I was already working as a yoga teacher when I began my level 1 course. Yet, I began my level 1 course in a publishing job I despised, and finished level 2 having started my home-based business, in a new house with my first child.

You cannot predict the future – that much is sure. I had harboured the desire to do a yoga teacher training course for many years. A chance encounter with John Ogilvie some years previous made me keen to do it with Byron Yoga Centre, but I’d assumed this would have to be in Byron.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could do the course, part-time over a series of weekends, right here in Sydney in the leafy north-side suburb of St Ives. Better still, John shared lead teacher responsibilities with Judy Krupp, a formidable teacher with more than 20 years experience who had worked with such industry greats as Donna Farhi and Simon Borg Olivier.

Judy and John teach like ebony and ivory, each playing to the other’s strengths. Their passions differed over aspects of yoga, but they were clearly united in their enthusiasm, eloquence and desire to spread the practice of yoga.

As the months sped by, our little group bonded over the agony of pronouncing Sanskrit terms, locating the Sartorius muscle and keeping our pelvises correctly positioned in space. We were a diverse bunch, at different life stages and with different expectations of the course and what we would get out of it. Some of us partook out of desire to study more deeply, some to begin a new career and others to attain well-regarded qualifications in a pursuit we were already undertaking.

There were a host of challenges, from teaching each other almost from our first session together, to teaching the public in supervised classes, with proceeds going to a charity of our choosing.

In between weekends, when John and senior Centre teacher Kara Goodsell flew back to Byron, Judy opened her studio to us and gave her time helping us prepare for practical assessments, assist yoga teachers and discuss the finer points of asana, anatomy or sequencing. We were a satellite Byron Yoga Centre community in Sydney.

When level 1 finished six months later all too soon, my appetite was well and truly whet. There was no way I could stop now. Just before I began level 2, one month after level 1 finished, I discovered I was pregnant. This put a completely different slant on things.

Initially I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to take advantage of having such senior mentorship to deepen my asana practice. My first trimester of pregnancy involved a lot of ‘couch yoga’, interspersed with Adho Mukha Virasana (down face hero pose), wondering what on earth I’d done, and Viparita Karani (legs up the wall pose), appealing to the heavens for help.

My fellow teacher trainees were naturally delighted to have a plaything to experiment upon and our pregnancy yoga classes provoked many a questioning glance in my direction. Luckily, I got my yoga mojo back in my second trimester, and began my race against time to complete the requisite 50 yoga classes as part of our assessment.

No prenatal classes for me, my mojo demanded I move. My enthusiasm for strong asanas was tempered by Judy, John and Kara’s insistence that I abide by pre-natal yoga guidelines. No such guidance was given in the general yoga classes I attended where, more often than not, I was left to my own devices to decipher poses with the aid of bolsters, blocks and blankets, or come up with alternatives to poses restricted to me.

Bandhas took on a new meaning in my practice as I sought to avoid overstretching my ligaments and contain my ever-expanding girth so that I didn’t hyperextend my lumbar spine and provoke lower back pain – a common complaint of pregnancy. In fact, I never felt better, all aches and twinges gone. My pelvis moved in ways that were previously inaccessible, freed by pregnancy hormones.

A pregnant friend asked if strangers had stopped me in the street as they had done her, to touch her belly and inquire as to her due date. I looked at her blankly; no passerbys stopped me, they couldn’t catch me as I raced around the city between client appointments, yoga classes, and running errands. I was on a mission.

My little yoga baby was quiet in utero while I breathed through Surya Namaskar (salute to the sun), lunged low into Virabhadrasana II (warrior 2 pose) or lifted my pelvis in Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (bridge pose). It was during our phenomenally long and deep yoga nidras (conscious relaxation) led by Judy, John or Kara, that my baby danced, flooded with happy hormones.

The course moved to a crescendo with long anatomy sessions with Dr Ed Franklin, Ayurveda with Mary Woolley, finalising our extensive self-study log books, and – perhaps most dreaded – preparing our final philosophy talks. I had my baby three days before our final weekend.

My labour was natural and thankfully quick – a credit not only to yoga and chiropractic care, which I had regularly throughout my pregnancy, but also to my new peace of mind.

That’s what people mean when they say ‘it’ll change your life.’ All the students in my course had different reasons for undertaking the course, but all shared the same love of yoga. To pursue something for the love of it is not only liberating, but empowering. Giving you courage to make changes to live more authentically in pursuit of your passion and purpose.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Byron Yoga Centre.
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:12:42 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/learning-to-be-free-karma-yoga.html “I wish I knew how it would feel to be free” follows the famous Nina Simone lyrics. With the best of intentions, we all get caught up in minutia of daily life. We may become easily frustrated or angry when the results of our actions don’t turn out the way we hoped, or we indulge in self-pride when the results we hoped for, eventuate. We are constantly swinging between highs and lows and dwelling on the intricate details of how best to manipulate actions to get what we want.

Karma yoga is a path to equanimity of mind and enlightenment, where we no longer have these countless frustrations.

Generally, we believe that we are active participants with control over our own destiny, which is why we become dissatisfied when things don’t go the way we planned. A person following the path of karma yoga realises that God is the only true doer. This belief is not unique to Hinduism – in Christianity, it is expressed as: “Not my will but Thine be done, O Lord.”

Karma yoga means that actions are done without any expectation of a personal result or reward. “The mind of the karma yogi grows calm because they are satisfied that they have done their job to the best of their ability and they dedicate the results to God,” explains John Ogilvie, senior teacher and founder of Byron Yoga Centre.

“Karma yoga is different from the law of karma, or cause and effect. The law of karma affects those who believe they are the doer so the results of a karma yogi’s actions have no karmic consequences.”

Karma yogis see themselves as instruments of God’s will and with this comes peace of mind. Patanjali refers to this in the Yoga Sutras as ‘Yoga chitta vritti nirodha’: yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.

“The karma yogi appreciates that everything in life is transient and that difficulties are opportunities to learn compassion, so they give thanks for everything,” says John. “In the Bhagavad Gita, Krisna defends the ‘right kind of action’ and the importance of dedicating ourselves mindfully and wholeheartedly to one’s dharma, or duty. Krisna says that karma yoga transforms any mundane activity into spiritual practice because it is dedicated to God.”

Dharma, as discussed in the Bhagavad Gita, referred to the professional obligations one had in relation to one’s caste. Although the concept of caste duties is no longer relevant to our modern society, finding one’s life purpose remains a very modern dilemma. So what action is right action?

In modern times, right action has been interpreted to mean that the nature of your work is less important than the attitude of your heart and mind that you bring to it. We can do the same action with either selfish or selfless intent. By freeing our thoughts from selfish motive, anger, greed and hatred, we purify our intent behind an action and the results of the action become liberating rather than binding.

You may have found yourself immersed in a task and noticed how time seems to halt and a sense of unity arises as you no longer feel a separation between you ‘the doer’ and you ‘the thinker’. This sense of immersion, or ‘flow’, has been identified by cognitive scientists as the closest they can identify to an experience of happiness.

Learning to be free
So how do we stop believing we are the doer and that God is in charge? In the Bhagavad Gita Krisna says that your true Divine Self can only be known by controlling your senses with the mind and by devoting yourself to God.

We can devote ourselves to God in whatever form we identify as Divine. We control our senses through the eight limbs of yoga – through pranayama breathing regulation, the fourth limb, through pratyahara, sensory withdrawal, the fifth limb, and through dharana, concentration and dhyana, meditation, the sixth and seventh limbs.

The other limbs of yoga all teach us to think and act mindfully with others, with ourselves and our bodies. Selfless service to God, or seva, is another step towards appreciating the Divine Self in all people.

“Seva is the underlying basis of our Yoga Centre,” says John. “Giving all profits from our $5 classes to charity, being actively involved in our preferred three charities, and making yoga more accessible to more people allows our students, our teachers and our business to be involved in seva.”

Each of us has a tiny spark of divinity within us; a common analogy is that we are all a water droplet in a vast ocean. You may have had a fleeting experience of this during meditation, during yoga class or when looking into the eyes of a loved one or a stranger.

Once your buddhi, or intellect, realises the Divine Self within, these unite and you become enlightened, liberated from the law of karma which sees you reincarnated into countless lifetimes.

We each have a tiny spark of Divinity within us. Recognising this, we need only act selflessly in service to God.

Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu
Translation: May all beings everywhere be happy and free. And may the thoughts and actions of my own life contribute, in some way, to that happiness and that freedom for all.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Byron Yoga Centre.
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:09:52 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/kundalini-rising.htmlHindu mysticism believes that the body has a system of energy channels called nadis, through which prana, or life force, flows. The many practices of yoga help cultivate prana to flow freely throughout all nadis – one of the most effective is nadi sodhana pranayama. Prana energy animates us and gives us energy. When one is in optimum health, prana is flowing freely through all nadis. When one is physically, emotionally or spiritually distressed or diseased, some of the nadis aren’t properly open, restricting the flow of prana to particular areas of the body.

Free-flowing nadis
The Sanskrit nadi derives from the root nad, which means ‘flow,’ ‘motion,’ or ‘vibration.’ There are 72,000 nadis according to ancient texts; the main nadis are shushumna, ida and pingala which run the length of the spine. Sushumna nadi is the centre channel around which ida and pingala spiral like a double helix.

Ida nadi begins at the left side of the sacrum, and ends at the left nostril and pingala nadi begins at the right side of the sacrum to the right nostril. Ida stimulates the right side of the brain; it is feminine, cooling, lunar energy which nourishes and purifies body and mind. Pingala nadi stimulates the left side of the brain; it is masculine, heating, solar energy which creates vitality and physical strength.

Kundalini rising
Where pingala and ida intersect sushumna creates a concentration of energy – this happens at seven places along the axis of the body and corresponds with the chakras, or energy centres. The three nadis end at the ajna chakra, midway between the eyebrows.

Sushumna nadi is the channel through which flows kundalini shakti, meaning latent ‘serpent power’. In yoga, enlightenment occurs when kundalini flows upwards through sushumna – known as ‘kundalini rising’. One of the most effective practices to help the flow of prana is to cleanse the nadis with nadi sodhana pranayama.

The practice of nadi sodhana pranayama
Start by sitting in a comfortable position. Bring your left hand onto the left knee, palm facing up with the tip of the first finger and thumb lightly touching. This is gyan mudra; it seals the energy flow in the hand.

Raise your right hand to the nose, keeping your elbow lifted, your shoulders relaxed. Curl the first and middle fingers into your palm and gently place your thumb on the right nostril and your ring and little fingers onto your left nostril without closing either nostril. This is Vishnu mudra.

Close your eyes and ensure that you are still sitting straight and your right elbow is lifted lightly. Close the left nostril with your ring and little fingers and exhale your breath thoroughly through the right nostril. Your thumb is lightly resting on your right nostril.

Start the pranayama by inhaling through your right nostril, pausing at the top of the breath. Open the left nostril, close the right nostril with your thumb and exhale slowly through your left nostril, pausing at the bottom of the breath. Inhale through the left nostril and pause. Open the right nostril, close the left nostril, exhale through your right nostril and pause.

Continue at your own pace, keeping the inhalation and exhalation roughly the same length. If you have a blocked nose, are becoming short of breath, feel tight in the chest, or experience any other discomforts, it is best to discontinue the practice until you feel better.

When you’ve had enough, finish the practice by exhaling through your right nostril, then bring the right hand down onto the right knee in gyan mudra and breath normally. Lie in savasana, corpse pose, to enjoy the effects of nadi sodhana pranayama on the mind and body.

Cultivating prana
Prana energy is gained through our foods and water as well as our breath. Our diet, our physical asana yoga practice, meditation and pranayama all help to cultivate more prana in the body. These practices are part of the eight limbs of yoga, taught as Purna Yoga by Byron Yoga Centre teachers. But pranayama practice cultivates higher quality breathing and is most important for influencing the activity of prana in the body.

Practising nadi sodhana pranayama regularly keeps the nadis clean and helps the flow of prana. It is one of the most effective springtime ‘detoxs’ around and may, with time and commitment, help us experience the cosmic bliss of kundalini rising.

If you are practicing pranayama for the first time, it is best to do so under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Byron Yoga Centre.
]]>Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:07:32 GMThttp://www.yogareach.com.au/2/post/2011/11/navel-gazing-learn-to-meditate.htmlSitting with eyes closed and mind focused seems a simple thing. Yet for anyone who’s ever sat and tried to meditate while battling with thoughts that jump from judgements to menial distractions, it can be excruciating. Simplifying your approach may be the key to get beyond these, explains Byron Yoga centre meditation teacher Stephan Kahlert. 

“The most common thing that puts people off meditating is the constant arising of thoughts,” says Stephan. “But the mind is made up of thoughts and as your mind is your meditation vehicle, thoughts are part and parcel of meditation. Instead, we try not to engage with thoughts.”

Start by forgetting about what meditating should be like. Reject expectations of having an exotic or esoteric experience and hold the intention only to be present in the moment. An effective technique to anchor the mind in the presence is to observe your in-breath and out-breath without trying to control it.

“Feel the sensation of the breath on your nostrils, your upper lip, feel your chest and belly moving to accommodate,” says Stephan. “You may wish to count the breath using ‘one, two’ over and again. Concentration – known in Sanskrit as Dharana – brings a meditative space.”

Developing concentration does not happen overnight. Try to avoid berating yourself if you find thoughts competing for your attention or you become emotionally engaged with them. Simply bring your attention back to the breath and do this every time you find yourself engaged with your thoughts.

“Observing your thoughts creates distance between the watched and the watcher, between the subject and the object,” says Stephan. “You give your thoughts energy, so when you withdraw that, your thoughts start to slow down. The meditation technique is less important, don’t become wedded to technique.”

For first-time meditators or those needing inspiration or motivation, Stephan advocates finding a meditation group, perhaps at a yoga or Buddhist centre. Meditation teachers will give guidance and support and encourage you to sit longer than you may otherwise. Group meditations also create a stronger vibration to inspire you than when doing meditations at home. “If you’re lucky enough to sit with an enlightened person, you will benefit from their vibrations,” says Stephan.

“This is not to say that you need to find a guru,” Stephan adds. “People tend to project their unresolved issues on a guru or spiritual leaders, thinking they can solve them. But everyone is master of their own destiny with the power to make changes and improvements, one step at a time.”

It’s often useful to hear other people’s experience of meditation and to have support if your meditation leads to some larger, long-term changes. Odd sensations may arise while meditating, such as colours, patterns, distortions of perspective or perception, strong emotions or memories. These may be unsettling and it helps to have the support of a teacher and group. “Be gentle and forgiving of whatever comes up,” says Stephan. “Try not to place too much importance on the effects but do try to relax, as it makes being observant much easier.”

Stephan has been meditating in Hindu and Buddhist traditions for 18 years, and teaches on our retreats in Byron Bay as well as overseas. He avoided yoga for many years, thinking that yogis were obsessed with their bodies whereas meditators were interested in the mind. “I started experiencing back pain and felt tight and stiff. So I followed my wife Bettina to a yoga class with John Ogilvie and became hooked,” says Stephan. Stephan will be leading meditation sessions on our Bali retreat in August and in India in November. He'll establish a group practice and help you to practice the techniques he's outlined in this article.

When asked about advice for the practitioner who doesn’t feel like meditation is working, Stephan says, “If you have become miserable by trying meditation, perhaps you are not yet ready. Some people have all manner of problems which gives them huge motivation to meditate. If you are ready, you will get the benefits, it doesn’t matter if your circumstances aren’t ideal.”

General tips to enhance meditation

• The best time to meditate is sunrise or sunset
• Meditation is most effective on an empty stomach
• Try to develop a place and routine for your meditation
• Avoid lying down but be comfortable
• Try to relinquish expectations and to relax
• You can sit with your eyes open if you find this easier. Focus on a point of stillness and keep your eyes half-closed.

By Brook McCarthy. This article was written for Byron Yoga Centre.
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